The basic problem addressed by the configurations presented herein pertains to loading and unloading of dedicated cargo transportation vehicles with International Standards Organization (ISO) specified intermodal containers.
Asynchronous scheduling between air cargo and surface transportation modes is problematic when ISO containers arrive at and depart from airports via air or a surface transport mode, typically truck transport. Precise synchronization of these modes is practically impossible. As a result, cargo is usually stored for some period during the transfer from one mode to another.
Rapid airplane loading and unloading is advantageous since this reduces the period of unproductive time the airplane spends on the ground and increases its productive time in the air. The benefit of rapid loading must be balanced against the cost of the loading system and the labor hours needed.
Existing solutions typically handle only one container at a time, and containers are not staged on pallets or even yard trucks before the vehicle's (ship or train) arrival. Containers are loaded onto trains, trucks and ships from a vertical direction (they are lowered) as opposed to being inserted longitudinally, and containers are not pre-registered (geometrically) so as to automatically align with the vehicle's cargo restraint system. Furthermore, no system is provided to permit a transport vehicle to drive in underneath staged containers.
In the commercial air cargo world, ISO containers are rarely ever carried, and when they are, air cargo containers and/or pallets are loaded one or two at a time, where air cargo containers and/or pallets are stored in order of loading to facilitate the loading. However, loading devices (cargo loader vehicles) are not pre-staged. Instead, containers are moved in order to (typically) a single main deck cargo loader vehicle where they are loaded one or two at a time.
It is with respect to these and other considerations that the configurations herein are presented to enable ISO containers to be loaded into an airplane or other transportation vehicles more quickly than existing systems, and also enable a very large and heavy payload to be loaded and secured within an airplane or transportation vehicle more quickly. There needs to be a method that requires less labor per unit load than existing air cargo systems, by reducing the time spent storing and moving air cargo containers and pallets. Furthermore, the storage of cargo containers may take place outdoors where typically existing air cargo is stored indoors in a costly facility.